We aren’t heroes
by Panic1AtTheHere
Summary: What if the ninja weren’t the ninja? What if there was another team, and our heroes were never the saviours of Ninjago? What if this all happened to someone else, and we got the ninjas’ perspectives on this? Well, this is what would happen (I think)
1. Normal

**Hey guys! This story just got into my head and I think it would make a pretty cool story. So what if the ninja weren't the ninja. What if Kai, Cole, Zane, Jay, Lloyd and Nya never became the ninja, never saved Ninjago City, never met Sensei Wu, never found their true potentials? What if they were just normal? So this is a story all about what the ninjas' lives would be like if they never became ninja. I'd rather stick to canon as much as I can, but if you guys would like to see it divert from canon, it will. Just let me know in your reviews. We will still have the six ninja, the samurai X, etc, but they won't be Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, Lloyd, Nya or Pixal. Our heroes won't be theirs. I'm going to stick to canon ships and relationships though, like Nya and Kai will still be siblings, Jay and Nya will date, Kai and Skylor will date, Zane and Pixal, etc. Don't worry, I'm not leaving them out! Anyway, this has done on for long enough, and my rambling isn't what you guys are here for, so here's the first chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

**We aren't heroes. **

**Chapter 1**

**Kai**

Kai Smith had always loved superhero stories. He had read them for as long as he could remember. He had always dreamed of one day becoming a hero, of protecting Ninjago. He would fly about with a long red cape, shooting flames from his hands at villains who tried to take over his homeland. They would cripple at the heat of his fire, and they would flee, or else they would perish. Monsters with large tentacles would reach for him, destroying buildings, but he would dodge the blows, saving people from the falling houses as he went. He was strong, able to carry five people at once, and his eyes would fire burning orange lasers at his opponents. Girls would fling themselves at him, and he would chuckle to himself as he jumped high into the air and soared over the city, through the bright blue sky, under and over clouds. Everyone would love him.

However, Kai's childhood was very different. He lived in a small village in the countryside of Ninjago, called Ignacia. He had his parents, Ray and Maya, and his younger sister, Nya. His father worked in the family's blacksmith's shop, the Four Weapons. The shop didn't gain the family much money, but Kai didn't mind. He was used to being a poor child with few luxuries, and if anything, he enjoyed the simple, humble life he led.

One morning, when Kai was fourteen, he woke to another normal day. His parents left early that morning on a journey into the mountains, a yearly tradition that Kai and Nya were too young to come on, a tradition that had been passed down in their family. Neither of the two siblings knew what their parents found every year in those mountains that convinced them to continue the yearly tradition, but he would find out in a year or two, according to his father. His parents' absence left him in charge of the shop, with Nya under his control. Or so he liked to think. The day went by as usual, the shop being quiet, and the two siblings mainly just played board games in the main house, though Kai always kept an eye and ear out for anyone on their way to the shop, whether they were his parents or just customers. Ray and Maya returned at sunset, finding their children closing up the blacksmith's shop. Smiling, the younger and older twos greeted each other again, and the parents followed their children into their house. Like they did every year, Kai and Nya had waited to have dinner so they could eat with their parents. As they ate, Ray spoke, breaking the silence.

"Did you two hear about the boy and his sister who live over the hill to us?" He asked his two children, both of whom shook their heads.

"The ones whose parents disappeared about a decade ago? The ones who are the same age as us?" Nya asked her father. In response, he nodded.

"Yes. They were supposedly visited by a strange old man today. He told the boy that he had some kind of power and the two followed that old man out of Ignacia. Fools. Some people are so desperate to believe they're special." Ray replied. "I'm just glad it wasn't you two." Kai and Nya agreed with their father, and Maya nodded. Kai's mind was plagued with thoughts - _Who was that old man? Where could he have taken those kids? What kind of power did that boy supposedly have? Do I have any powers? Will I be visited by some strange old man and taken away when my parents aren't here? _\- but he tried his best to conceal them. The rest of the meal went without incident, and conversation died down into silence again. After dinner, Kai and Nya washed and dried the dishes, letting their parents go to bed early after their long, tiring journey. Nya seemed to be able to read Kai's thoughts, and she glared intensely at him from his left side where she was drying up the dishes.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not our problem. We just need to be on the lookout for any strange old men in Ignacia. For all we know, he might come back soon." She warned Kai, and he nodded miserably. He hated being told off by his younger sister. She was always the voice of reason.

**Jay**

Jay Walker was a junkyard boy, and he hated it. For most of his childhood, he had felt okay about living in a junkyard, but in his final year of primary school, word had got out about where he lived, and even his friends turned against him, bullying him wherever he went. So he never went out on weekends, preferring to stay in the safety of his home. His parents, Ed and Edna Walker, tried to get him to leave the yard occasionally, but he would always refuse. He could never tell them why, though, and it ate him alive, consuming all of his time and thoughts. He hated school because of how bad he was treated there. Oh well, his jokes were more appreciated at home anyway. Besides, he had made many more good memories on his homeland, such as his first invention, a small fan. He had found all of the pieces and asked his father to help him wire it. They had been successful, but Jay had misplaced his fan a few months later. Also, he had the memories of all of the home videos, no matter how embarrassing they were. He had learned many things in the junkyard, things school couldn't teach him, and he was glad he grew up where he did.

Until he heard of a strange old man appearing to a different junkyard boy who lived nearby. The boy was Jay's age, and had run into the city to test an invention of his - a glider - but it had failed and he crashed into a billboard. Jay was relieved hat it wasn't him, but he doubted that he would have left with the man anyway; his parents had instilled a fear of strangers into him at a young age, telling him tales of abductions and kidnappers and other people who did bad things to kids his age. Rumour had it that the boy had been told that he had some sort of power, and Jay wondered who would be that gullible. _Fool. _

Cole

Cole Brookstone was a dancer. At least, that's what his father said. He had hated the idea of prancing about on stage ever since he was a child, but he never had the heart to say so. Cole hated upsetting people, and he always tried to follow what they wanted him to do. His father, Lou, was one of the Royal Blacksmiths, one of the most famous quarters in the whole of Ninjago. Cole didn't understand how his father enjoyed throwing himself about on a stage in front of loads of people and singing about things he'd never experienced, but Cole never said anything. His town was full of dancers and their kids, who also aspired to go into the music industry, and Cole had always felt left out, different. But he like being different. He had friends, sure, but none of them knew the real him. And Cole liked it that way. If no one knew who he really was, no one could tell his dad that he'd been lying his whole life.

Cole was attending the Martha Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, or MOSPA as Cole liked to call it, much to the annoyance of his father, and Cole _hated it there. He couldn't sing or dance, and he couldn't see the point of either of them. He didn't see himself in the music industry when he was older, but his fear of upsetting his father held him back from confessing his hatred of his life. So Cole kept singing, kept dancing. He was part of a quartet at school, and he hated all three of his band mates. Every school day was eight hours of torture. But at least the wall home had its perks - he would finally be alone. _

Zane

Zane was alone. He had always been alone. For as long as he remembered at least. Which honestly wasn't even that long. Zane couldn't remember his childhood, only his name. Zane Julien. He thought he remembered an old man with grey hair and glasses, who told Zane that he loved him, but it always turned out to be a dream. No one loved Zane. He didn't know anybody. He didn't have anyone to love.

Word of Zane's amnesia always follows him around from village to village, and he gets sympathy and strange looks from passing citizens. Zane liked to test himself, however, so tried to not pay attention on them, instead focusing on his tests. He would see how long he could hold his breath underwater, he would see how long he could remain in a freezer without freezing, he would see how long he could hold his hand near a flame for before he got burned. Sure, some of his tests ended in pain, but it was all about testing his own body's limits. Nothing else. He didn't want to see himself bleed, he didn't want to feel himself hurt, he didn't want to hear himself crying or hiss sharply when wincing, but he did. _Sometimes life is unpleasant, and we just have to deal with it. _Zane was simple, and his life was the same. When he wasn't travelling anyway.

Maybe, if he found the right place, he would remember. He might remember his childhood home, he might recall his parents' names, their faces. He might remember friends, or other extended family. Maybe he had siblings? Or was he, truly, all alone? That seemed more likely.


	2. Rumours

**Woah, two chapters tonight? THATS RIGHT! Okay, so I realised something earlier, which was that Kai and Jay heard of people getting found by Wu, but Cole and Zane didn't, so I'm gonna fix that here! Also, apologies for all of the typos in the first chapter, I promise to pay more attention to this chapter. Anyways, onto Chapter 2 of We Aren't Heroes. **

**Chapter 2**

**Kai**

Two weeks after the disappearance of the boy over the hill and his sister, Kai kept hearing rumours around his school that more kids had gone missing. The kids from Ignacia weren't this old man's only victims, since there were stories about a boys from all over Ninjago going. There were the boy and his sister from Ignacia, a junkyard boy who lived in the Sea of Sand desert, a boy who had forgotten his past and a boy from a town of musicians, singers and dancers. What was strange was that all four of the boys were the same age as Kai. When the other three Smiths heard about this, they all stayed on high alert, guarding Kai with as much dedication as one would protect a massive gemstone with. Kai was just as glad as his family was that he was able to stay home with them rather than be taken by a strange old man claiming that he had some kind of power, no matter how cool that power may have been, and it showed. Kai was happy at home, and wanted to stay there for as long as he could.

**Jay**

Jay heard on the news that more and more boys were vanishing, as if they had been brushed clean off the face of the earth. Not only had the boy from one of the nearby junkyards been taken, but there was also a boy from a small countryside village called Ignacia, a boy from a musician town, where singers and dancers practiced and performed and whatnot, and another boy from... somewhere... who had lost his memory. All of the four boys were arorund Jay's age, and he got even more nervous every time he left the junkyard now, because that old man could have appeared from anywhere. He could have been outside the junkyard at any time, and Jay could walk right into him and find himself being whisked away to some strange place he had never seen before, being told he had some kind of power. _Seriously though, who would believe that kind of stuff? _The stories were all anyoenat school could talk about, and Jay was glad that, for the first time in forever, he was not the topic of conversation in his secondary school. The kids from his primary school had told their friends, siblings and parents about Jay's home, and the teasing had continued into secondary school, so Jay was still being bullied by pretty much everyone in his school. But now, he was not the focus of any conversations, and he felt himself relax slightly. Though of course, the disappearance of four kids within a week was pretty bad, so it wasn't a surprise that Jay was no longer the one everyone was paying attention to. He was even allowed into some conversations, even if he was ignored for most of them.

When he got home that evening after school, he had heard on the news that apparently, these boys hadn't just gone missing. One of the boys, the one from the junkyard, was still in touch with his parents and wasn't reporting anything weird. Jay, however, found this suspicious. _Who just _lets _their kid walk away with some stranger? Sure, he told them where he was going, but still. He has to go to school, and he'll have homework to do, so he's not an exception. Besides, his parents must be really irresponsible to let their son just wander off with some strange old_

_man who claimed he had some kind of power. His parents probably set it up, or lied to the news person. _Jay's thoughts were interrupted by his mother calling him for dinner, and he quickly forgot about the suspicions he had.

**Cole**

Cole shook in his bed at nights. There had been a boy in his town who had been abducted by some weird old man. He was one of four taken within a month, and Cole was terrified. The boy taken from his town had been his next-door neighbour. He had gotten along okay with the boy, though they didn't lie each other that much. He wasn't in Cole quartet. However, having a kidnapping victim living next to you shakes you up, and Cole was petrified. _It was so close to being me. We get home at similar times, him just after me. He might have been taken from his house. He might have been taken off the streets. It could have been me... A_s much as Cole hated his life in his hometown, he wouldn't want to leave his father behind. The boy who had been taken had also lost his mother, so he and Cole could relate to each other on an emotional level. Cole had cherished that for a few years, but he hadn't appreciated it enough. Now, he had no one he could talk to about the loss of his mother. Cole scrolled through the news feed on his phone, noticing the title about the boys who had been taken. _Wait, boy_s? _More than one? _Cole clicked it and found out that four boys had been taken. One with amnesia from somewhere in Ninjago, one from Ignacia, a village near the mountains, one from a junkyard in the Sea of Sand, and of course, the final one from the house next to his. Cole quivered harder, shaking with fear. Trying to regain control over his emotions, he slowly breathed in before slowly breathing out again. After a few deep breaths, he was calm again, and able to sleep. He laid down in his bed and thought about anything but what he had read in the news article. Sure, apparently they were still in touch with their parents, the ones who had them anyway, but Cole still wondered who would let their child just leave home with some compete stranger. _Fools. _

**Zane**

Zane wandered through the village, contemplating what he had heard about the four missing boys. Turns out they weren't missing, since they were still in contact with the family they had, but Zane still wondered if there was a deeper meaning to the man appearing to the four boys, all of whom happened to be about his age. _This is good, I can remember my age. I remember the necessary stuff. That's a good sign at least. _Zane questioned if he could have been the one with amnesia who was taken, since the other boy did what he did, wandering around villages, keeping his head down, resting his limits. Zane knew it wasn't him, simly wondered if there was a chance that, had he been there at the right place at the right time, would he have been the one who got taken? Would he have been told he had powers and taken to a place where no one would find him? Zane didn't know. He felt sorry for those whose relatives or friends had been taken, and he felt as if a brother had been taken, since a fellow amnesiac had been kidnapped. Zane considered all those who had forgotten their past to be like a sibling to him, so to lose one of them was a heavy toll on him, even without knowing the kids. He felt sorry for the kids in Ignacia who had lost a fellow, he felt sorry for anyone in a junkyard, for they had lost one of themselves too. He felt sorry for those in that town of dancers and singers who had lost a musician. Those boys would have made a difference in the world, Zane thought, and if the rumours of their survival were true, they still could.


	3. Serpentine

**Sorry about the long break between these two chapters, this one is very late, but I've been writing another story and I've had writer's block for this one. I'm sorry guys, I'll try to get back into the swing of things, but school's starting up again in a few weeks, so I'll need to make a schedule. And not start any new stories, just make notes on them. This workload is piling up, and I'm just trying to stay on top of it all. Oh well. So yeah, sorry for the wait and the writer's block, I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, chapter 3!**

**Kai**

Despite being young and still having their parents around, Kai and Nya are very independent, and often do what they want as if they had no parents. They would always let Ray and Maya know where they are though. After Blake had been taken from ever the hill, however, their parents had become a lot more strict, only allowing the two kids out on certain nights and with certain people in certain amounts, only going into certain places and to be back home at a certain time unless it's a sleepover at a friend's or something similar. Nine times out of ten, they are home within their curfew. This was the one of ten. They were supposed to be home at eight. It was now half past nine. And this didn't seem like it was going to end any time soon.

The siblings had had no intention of staying out late, but Jamanakai Village had been attacked. The kids often venture out into this village, since it isn't far from Ignacia, but this time it had gone wrong. Very wrong. Snakes had infiltrated the village, frightening children and adults alike. The two siblings crouch in an alleyway, desperate to find a way to escape.

"Serpentine." Nya whispers under her breath, barely audible in the chaos.

"What?" Kai shoots back. Nya looks him in the eyes with a serious look on her face.

"Serpentine. A race of intelligent snake-people who are set on conquering Ninjago. They were forced underground, locked away in tombs, after the Serpentine War. There are six warring tribes, and they were split accordingly. There are the Hypnobrai, the Fangyres, the Constrictai, The Venomari and the Anacondrai. This seems to be the Hypnobrai." Kai looks out at the swarm of blue snake-people and notices that one holds a staff. He is also the only snake to have a tail, giving him a much more snake-like appearance compared to the others. Nya seems to sense his thoughts, as she continues spilling her knowledge of the Serpentine tribe. "The one with the staff and tail is the general. He's the one in charge."

"What can they do? Like, ability-wise. Any powers they possess?" Kai asks, desperate to find out more about these Hypnobrai. After all, is they are to escape, they'll need all the knowledge they can get.

"Just whatever happens, don't look them in the eye. That's how they get you. They can hypnotise anyone and anything by looking into their eyes, and that's why their called Hypnobrai. All of the Serpentine tribes have pun names. When they shake their tails, you wanna be really careful. That's how they tell their hypnotised victims their orders. Then you want to be as far from them as you can." Kai takes in a sharp breath just as a voice yells out from behind him. He looks up at the house he's crouching in the shadow of to see a boy in a red suit leaping across the gaps between the buildings. He jumps down and lands among a group of the Hypnobrai, who knock him down easily. He two siblings hear another voice faintly say, "Okay, we're really out of shape." before another boy dressed in a similar suit, though blue, lands in the snow in front of the two siblings. He spins something in his hands, and Nya taps Kai's shoulder.

"If we're going to get out of here," she whispers in his ear, trying to not be heard or seen by either side of the fight, "now's our chance!" Kai nods and the two children clamber over the wall behind them. The drop down to the other side and sprint back home in silence. The only sounds are their feet pounding against the earth as they run and the wind whistling past them as they race through the countryside.

"Thank the First Spinjitzu Master you're okay!" Maya exclaims as her two children come bursting into the house. Ray looks up at the siblings, fury in his brown eyes. Trying their best to ignore their father's murderous look, Kai and Nya focus on their mother as she bustles around, telling them about how worried she had been about their disappearances. Five minutes after she began, Ray speaks up, his voice dropping with anger.

"So where were you two anyway?" His voice seems to echo in Kai's ears, and he shoots Nya a nervous look, which she returns before she clears her throat.

"Jamanakai Village." She replies. "We-" before she is able to explain their situation, Ray cuts her off.

"So why are you home so late?!" He bellows, and Kai swears he can feel the very house shake under his father's wrath. He shifts uncomfortably on his feet, though his consciousness tells him that he isn't at fault. _Whoever freed those snakes should be here, not me. I didn't do anything wrong. _Nya quickly explains their side of the story, and Ray eases up. Maya, on the other hand, starts to freak out. She has a friend in the Village, and anxiety courses through her veins, flashin across her eyes as she turns away from her children to run into the kitchen. The other three Smiths hear the home phone dial a number and ring once before being answered. Maya's conversation with the person on the other side is quick, though full of grief and relief. She soon re-enters the living room and drops down onto the sofa beside Ray, who puts his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He then apologises to Kai and Nya, who nod simultaneously before turning to head up the stairs to their rooms, leaving their parents alone in the living room.

**Jay**

Jay hears about it on the news, and he shakes as the burning village appears on the screen. He knows all about the legend of the Serpentine, and seeing them released again sends shivers down his spine. The village smoulders on the TV screen, and Jay wonders if anyone was hurt in the attack, which seems entirely unprovoked to him. Then again, not everything in this world is explained, which is something that Jay has had to get used to, he's found out. The camera footage pans out to show the entire village up in flames, the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. Four boys are shown on the screen, all in matching suits. The only differences are the colours. One is red, one is blue, one black and one white. Jay looks at the team and wonders who those four mysterious boys are. _Is it possible that they're... no. Don't be ridiculous, Jay. _Meanwhile, in the bottom right corner of the screen, two children are shown running through the countryside towards another small village, and Jay leans forward to look at the two of them. They race through the grass and rocks, and one looks back over their shoulder at the carnage behind them. The girl pushes her black hair from her face and the boy stops to stand beside her. Jay is shocked by the girl, feeling like he's seen her somewhere before. She is pretty, with dark brown eyes that shine like melted chocolate, a slim and fit physique and short black hair in a bob around her head. Her long dress is ruby red, with small pale phoenixes down her left side. She has dark, tanned skin that seems to send the sun's glow back at the fiery ball in the sky. Her hair waves around in the wind. The boy has lighter eyes and also wears red, though it's only his T-shirt. His jeans, on another hand, are deep blue with occasional rips through the material, exposing his skin, which is similar in colour to the girl's. His brown hair sticks up and out in places around his head, and Jay can see it shine from hair gel. Jay realises that they must be siblings, there is no way that they're just two strangers who have the same face shape and nose. The two kids stand there for a minute before turning and sprinting back towards the other village. They don't look back again.

**Cole**

Cole has heard about the attack on Jamanakai Village, and his anxiety increases. _What are the chances that those snakes will attack here next? _His fear consumes his every thought at night, and his dreams are plagued with flames, blue snake-people and bright red eyes with hypnotic circles spiralling through them. He wakes in a sweat, freezing cold and wrapped up in blankets. Cole's father, Lou, sleeps soundly, unperturbed by the appearance of the blue snakes, which the TV reporter dubbed 'the Hypnobrai'. The name perfectly fits the snakes, due to their hypnotic eyes and their power to mind-control people, and Cole wonders if the name was intentionally a pun. Thinking back on other recently-named things, he decides that yes, this name is a pun and fully intentional. Forcing a chuckle to his lips, he quietly laughs himself back to sleep. Somehow, he manages to remain sleeping until his alarm rings in the morning.

The first thing on the news is, again, the attack on Jamanakai Village. This time, Cole pays attention to the other details of the news report, and his eyes land on a pair of kids in the bottom right corner of his screen. He lowers the volume and focuses on the two children, a boy and a girl. The girl looks younger by about a year or two, and she turns around once to look back at the burning village they are running from. The boy, who Cole guesses is her brother, stops and stands beside her, not saying a word to each other. The girl has short black hair, deep brown eyes that appear black from a distance, and a long red dress that hangs at the halfway point of the bottom of her legs. The dress clings to her hips, and really shows off her slim waist. Her skin is rather dark, and Cole credits it to a tan. Her brother has the same nose and face shape, though has brown hair instead of black. He towers over his sister, especially with his spiked hairstyle. The brown spikes are everywhere on his head, sticking out in all different angles at varying lengths. After a minute or two, the siblings turn and run away from the smouldering village, heading for a different part of the countryside, possibly Ignacia. Cole wonders what two Ignacia kids would be doing in Jamanakai Village that late into the night so soon after the abductions of those four boys, but he has no answers. As if on cue, four boys are shown on the screen, each wearing a different coloured suit. One is in red, like the two kids from Ignacia, one is covered in blue, one is garbed in black, and the fourth is in white. _That's odd. Four boys were taken, and four boys are saving Jamanakai Village from Hylnobrai snakes. Are they... no. Surely not. Everyone knows those boys never came back. No matter what the news says, those boys are likely dead by now. _Cole turns his TV off as the news reporter starts to talk about those four boys, and he stands before packing his bag for dance school. Today, he has an important rehearsal, though he would much rather skip it. After all, if there is anything he wants, it's to drop out of MOSPA and run away, escaping his dancing life for something more exciting. For now though, he leads that dancing life, and he must deal with it.

All through school, all anyone talks about are the 'ninja' who saved Jamanakai Village and everyone in it from destruction. Cole, however, does not say anything, opting instead to remain silent, which he often does. As usual, no one pays any attention to him, but on this day, he doesn't care. Instead, he listens in on other people's conversations, making his own theories to who those boys were. Apparently, they had been seen in Jamanakai Village a few days before, dealing with some kid who claimed to be the son of a warlord. According to the discussions around school, Cole learns that those boys are referred to as the 'ninja' and that they really _do_ have elemental powers. _Yeah right. _At the end of the day, Cole gladly walks home alone, his thoughts buzzing in his head in complete turmoil.

**Zane**

Zane saw it all happen. He had been passing Jamanakai Village when the Hypnobrai had attacked. Now, he is unsure what to do with that information. He silently wonders who those boys could have been, and the most-likely theory that hits him is that, in fact, those four boys really were the ones who had been taken by that strange old man. Perhaps they really do have elemental powers. _Beggar's belief. No one is that different. _Zane brushes it off, as if it's nothing, and continues trudging through the land, his white clothes becoming browner by the day. His weary eyes land on a small village near Jamanakai, and an instinct tells him that it's called Ignacia. He cautiously steps into Ignacia as the sun starts to set, wondering who he would meet, if anyone, in these new surroundings. _Let us just hope they're friendly. _

**A/N: GUYS I AM SO SORRY THIS IS OUT SO LATE!!! I've been working on this for a while, and my schedule has collapsed. _Psh, what schedule? _SHUT UP, DOUBT!**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter. So I hope that starts to clear your head, Dyphen, and hints at how they're all gonna meet. I have the meeting between Jay and the Smiths in my head, and it should come sooner or later. But for now, Zane is nearer to the Smiths than anyone else. **

**Replies to reviews!**

**I know I normally do this at the start, but I forgot and I didn't do this at the end of the previous chapter, so I'm doing it here. **

**Guest: I understand where you're coming from, but yes, the other characters wil be able to wield the four weapons of Spinjitzu, since Kai, Zane, Cole and Jay have not inherited their powers. Instead, those powers are running through different families. So Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane will not be able to wield the weapons while the new ninja can. I hope that clears that issue up. **

**Dyphen: okay, I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. Then again, you seem to like most of my work. And thank you, you're good at writing too! Anyway, I hate to correct you, but I didn't mean for the last Zane bit to make it seem like he wanted to find Wu, he was just cautious that it _could have _been him if he was in the right place at the right time. I now realise that that phrase may have come across in two ways, and I've even removed some sentences from this chapter for fear of the same thing happening. But thank you, and remember that you're good at writing too!**

**Guest: yes, I agree, it would be funny to have the conversations between Zane and Lloyd kinda play around with the story arc of the first season, and I like your idea of the ninja being roped into, well, being ninja because of this new team, but I'm afraid that's what I'm trying to avoid if anything. I get what you're talking about, and I may make that a completely new story, but no, our heroes are not going to get dragged into the life we know them to have. Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole will, unfortunately, not become heroes. That's another reason why I chose this story name to be honest. **

**Guest: quite possibly. I'm trying to keep their personalities and stories as close to canon as possible, but with a bit of divergence. That's why Ray and Maya are still around, Zane has lost his memory, Cole wants to run away from MOSPA, etc. etc. But I do like your theory of the ninja still acting like heroes even though they aren't. I may make that happen, with them like evacuating people or saving people or something, but I don't know. But yeah, I like that idea. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and I hope you all like this story! Don't forget to review on your way out and tell me if you want to see this stick a bit more to canon, stay where I'm heading or break even further from canon. Personally, I'd rather stay in this direction that I've picked, but it's up to you guys. **

**See you all soon, and I'm sorry once again for this huge delay for chapters of this, My Band and "Help her!".**

**-LunaPikazard**


	4. Accommodation

**Sorry for the massive space between this chapter and the previous one, but I've had writer's block and I've been writing other stories recently but now I'm getting this out. I'm hoping to get this chapter and Security Footage (SF) out again tonight, and maybe also HH!, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. They definitely won't all come out tonight, but they should be out within the week. I will be making a quick announcement at the end of this chapter, so until then, enjoy the new chapter of We Aren't Heroes (WAH)**

**Chapter 4**

Kai

Kai's mind repeatedly wanders back to the attack on Jamanakai Village. He can't help but think that, has he been in the wrong place at the wrong time, without his sister by his side, he could have died. And besides, who _were _those boys?

He is shaken from his thoughts by his mother's voice, shouting something about school. _Crap. I'm running late! _He bolts down the stairs and snatches his bag from by the front door, racing out of the house and joining his sister on the path towards Ninjago City. Their school is just on the outskirts of the capital, and the two siblings get overloads of pride every time they think about it. After all, it's not every day two kids from the village of Ignacia attend school in Ninjago City! Well, it is for the Smiths, but not before that!

The two enter the school yard to shouting and screaming. Kids of varying ages run around the playground, some kicking a football through the grass, others sitting at benches patiently, waiting for the bell to ring. No one pays much attention to the Smith siblings as they enter the grounds, but they don't care. As long as they have each other, they don't need anyone else.

_Especially _not _those _kids.

A group of three boys and two girls approach the siblings, their walks full of swagger and self-confidence, which Nya reads as a cover-up for insecurity and personal issues, while Kai watches with a small pang of jealousy. Why can't _he _be that kid? Why does _he _have to be the one with only his little sister for company, as cool as she may be?

The pair stroll on past the group, heads high and states fixed on the school building. One of the girls sticks her foot out to trip Nya, who steps over it without a second glance. Kai gets pinched hard on the arm by one of the boys. Like before, no one takes any notice of the Smith siblings as they approach the doors to the building, even as the bell rings.

The siblings part ways in the entrance corridor, and their stomachs fill up with dread. _This is going to be a long day. _

The day is long, but the Smiths see each other throughout the day, allowing them both to get a break from the kids in their classes, who pinch and kick them in different subjects. Both know that being the outsiders isn't easy, but it's necessary. After all, this is the best place for an education these kids are going to get, so they might as well make the most of it. Even if that means putting up with uptight snobs from the heart of Ninjago City who believed they were better than everyone else simply because of their birthplace.

Jay

Jay's school life is miserable. Thankfully, being the shy and quiet kid, no one knows him, or even knows that he's in classes, allowing him to hide in the corners and shadows without being detected. This also gives him the advantage when it comes to eaves-dropping. Sure, he hates it when people do it to him, but since he never has conversations with anyone at school unless it's absolutely, positively necessary, it should be okay for him to listen to a smidge of people's conversations to get a bit of an insight into whatever has been happening in Ninjago City that the news just can't cover.

Also on his mind is the girl and her brother from the news footage. After all, they had seemed familiar. But where from? After all, he had hardly been to Jamanakai Village, and that's where the video had been taken. Those kids had been running back towards Ignacia when he saw them, and he had never been there...

"Yeah, Jack was his name."

Jay is shaken from his thoughts. _Jack? Wasn't he the kid from the junkyard near me? _His ears seem to prick up, and he listens intently to the boys near him, standing under one of the hoops of the basketball court.

"Oh, it was Jack? I was kinda hoping it would have been that other kid from the junkyard."

"You mean Jay? In our year?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"To be honest, I actually thought it had been him when I first heard the story..."

Jay's heart sinks. They had hoped it had been him? His own classmates had hoped for him to be kidnapped by some creepy old guy? He had thought they were his friends...

Jay leaves the shadows as the group of boys move from the basketball court when a couple of the other kids complain that they can't shoot into that hoop until they left. He can't stop the tears from rolling from his eyes as he sulks into a hideaway spot in a more secluded part of the playground. He sits near one of the lesser-used doors into the school building and hugs his knees tight to his chest. Silent sobs rack his body, and he shakes with self-pity. _Why? Why_ does it have to be_ him_, of all the kids at this school? Why is _he _the one who is left out and lonely?

Jay loses track of time, as he sits on the eneven ground, waiting for the next bell to ring. His throat is dry and sore from his crying, while his eyes sting. Still, he refuses to let go of his legs, clinging to them with all his might. His only movement is to wipe the tears off his cheeks before they fall off his face and land on his shirt. After all, if he has tear marks on his shirt, those boys will know he had been crying, and they would then realise that he had heard them. Not to mention, the other kids would pick on him for crying...

No, he would have to stop this childish sobbing, and act more like the mature teenager he is. _Am I though? No. I'm still a child. _His thoughts claw at his brain, arguing among themselves for his attention and belief, while all he wants is to be free of these horrid ideas. The bell finally rings, freeing him from this cold, dark, sorrowful cage he confined himself in, and he stands and pulls open the door to his left, entering the school building without looking back.

Cole

Cole wakes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat once again, shivering from head to toe. His grits his teeth and pushes the duvet off his body. Swinging his legs off his bed, Cole stands, and walks over to the light switch on the wall. The switch clicks quietly and the lights flash to life again. Cole tiptoes across the room to the full-length mirror against another wall, and examines himself.

His arms and legs are thick and muscular, not exactly, in his eyes, the dancing type. More like the body of a man who attends the gym, or a superhero. The first idea is easily achievable - Cole already has - but the second is ridiculous. After all, he isn't one of the lucky few who got chosen by that old guy and taken away from his current life to save Ninjago from destruction. _How many times must I tell you, those 'ninja' are not the four taken boys! It's just a coincidence! **I don't believe in coincidence! **Well you should! _His stomach churns uncomfortably as his thoughts spin in complete turmoil.

This isn't a good night.

Sighing, Cole takes a few quiet steps over towards his desk and examines his homework from earlier that night. He must have passed out or just gotten bored, for the essay is only half completed, stopping mid-sentence two-thirds down the page. Cole groans inwardly, plopping down into his chair and grabbing his pen. Looks like he knows what to do to avoid sleep and another possible nightmare.

Cos wakes in the morning still at his desk, the pen leaning limply against his hand. His arms are covered by goosebumps, while his eyes scream at him when he opens them. Light streams into his pupils and Cole flinches, blinking rapidly. The essay is finished, and Cole smiles with slight satisfaction as he rolls it up into a scroll. Yawning, he slides back into bed after switching off his light, savouring the time before his alarm goes off.

Sure enough, the alarm rings about an hour later, and Cole is still exhausted. The sun is partially above the horizon, waving at him with its fiery arms. He smiles weakly as he pushes himself up, his hand reaching out for the alarm clock on his bedside table. He finds the button and, sighing heavily, pushes it. It clicks as the alarm abruptly becomes silent, and Cole rubs his eyes.

_Today is going to be hard. _

Zane

Zane takes a deep breath before stepping into the village. His eyes wander around as he walks, landing on men and women in rice fields, wooden houses on hills and flat land, a few shops among the houses, and a blacksmiths ship atop the largest hill in the area. Steeling himself, Zane approaches the bottom step of the staircase built into the grassy ground. _I'll just work from the top. Maybe someone in this village will_ _provide me with the shelter and food I need for a small fee before I head out on my journey around Ninjago again. After all, I don't have any other plans at the moment. _

Zane finally reaches the top step and, panting heavily, walks towards the entrance of the shop. A tall man with black hair and red robes sits on a small wooden stall in the back right corner of the shop, polishing a blade between his hands. He looks up as Zane enters, and a warm smile spreads across his face.

"Goood morning. Fine weather today, isn't it?" His voice is welcoming, and Zane smiles in return before nodding his head. The man continues. "What can I do for you today, young man?" Zane looks him in the eye before replying in his cool, calm, monotone voice.

"I am not entirely sure you can do anything for me, I'm afraid." The man raises an eyebrow, and Zane takes a deep breath. "I do not remember who I am or where I am going, but I request shelter if possible. I am currently on a journey across Ninjago until I find my purpose again." The man nods slowly before asking Zane to excuse him for a second. He calls a name into the main house, and a woman enters Zane's view.

She has long black hair that hangs in curls around her elbows. She is rather tall and slim, and her dress is in multiple shades of blue, varying from deep, midnight blue to a light baby one. She stands in the doorway and the two converse in low tones for a minute or two before the man faces Zane again.

"We have a spare bedroom in our house, but we also have two children. Will that be okay?" Zane's jaw drops slightly. _There are offering me accommodation! _He nods vigorously.

"Thank you so much. That will be fine. I would like to get to know as many people in this village as I can, so I have no problem with company." The man and woman return his grin, and they introduce themselves. The woman's name is Maya, while her husband is called Ray.

_I look forward to getting to know these two better. And, of course, to meeting their children. I wonder what they will be like?_

**What Zane doesn't know is that he wont have to wait very long to find out...**

**A/N: so that was the new chapter of WAH! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I apologise one again for the massive break between chapters. I'm glad I finally have this story out again. And I hope you are all enjoying this story when I actually post updates. Thank you all for your support of my stories, even though I am a terrible person when it comes to releasing updates. **

**So, the important announcement: Gone will, unfortunately, not become a chaptered, full-length story. Sorry everyone. Instead, I will make a bit of a sequel, with a recommendation to read Gone before that one, but Gone will remain a one-shot. The new story will be out this year if I can find time, but I'm not sure yet. However, I am going to stick to my word, and if I forget, Dyphen, I may be relying on you a bit to remind me. It's okay if you forget though. We all do. :)**

**So yeah, sorry, Gone fans, but I _will _be making a sequel to it. For now, though, that's all I have for the Gone storyline. **

**This one, however, has been updated, so I hope you all like this chapter. I am definitely not going to be able to get this chapter out along with SF and HH! tonight, but I'll try to get those out ASAP. However, right now, I am on the verge of passing out. What time is it... TWO IN THE MORNING?! Geez. I'm law. Sorry guys, gals and non-binary pals. **

**I'll see you all soon with new instalments of stories, and I hope you're enjoying them. **

**See you all soon!**

**-LunaPikazard**

_LOGIC?! What happened to making a schedule for uploads?! My bad! I've been busy watching over Roman's shoulder for any grammatical errors in this chapter! **I've only just written the chapter!**_

_Uh... YOURE A PROCRASTINATOR!_

_**WE AGREED TO MAKE A PLAN TO AVOID IT AND YOU PROCRASTINATED ON THAT! OF FORGET IT, IN COMING IN THERE!**_

_**(All sides simultaneously) oh crap...**_


	5. Life Moves On

**I'm sorry I've taken so long to get this one out again, but this story has been stopped by writer's block recently. I'm sorry, and I will try to get this story out more often, as well as the others and any more that I may come up with sooner or later. Oh well. I don't know what to say here, so have the next chapter instead of my lousy drabble. **

**Kai**

Kai stares at boy in front of him. His eyes are wide, boring into the other's eyes. His parents stand off to his left, Nya on his right. His mother walks forward to stand beside the stranger.

"Kai, Nya, this is Zane." She says, placing her hand warmly on the boy's shoulder. Kai can't get the dumbfounded look off his face. Nya, on the other hand, crosses her arms and looks Zane dead in the face, though without the usual hard, piercing glint in her eyes. "Zane, these are our kids, Kai and Nya." Their mother continues, and Zane stretches his hand out, which Nya takes swiftly. They shake hands, both exchanging pleasantries. Knowing he is next, Kai clears his throat and straightens his back, puffing his chest out. He and Zane greet each other, before Ray announces something that changes everything.

"Kai, is it okay of Zane shares your room? It has enough space for the both of you." Kai's head snaps to his father, eyes bulging once again. His gaze shifts rapidly between him and Zane, who ducks his own gaze, opting instead to watch the floor while shifting uncomfortably on his feet. Kai sighs.

"Sure." His father beams and claps Kai on the shoulder.

"Good man." He says in an undertone to him.

Later that evening, Kai watches Zane carefully at dinner, observing the boy's perfect etiquette and manners with confusion and even envy. Zaneis tje first to finish his meal, clearing his plate and laying his cutlery perfectly down the centre in a neat, straight line, one next to the other. He thanks the adults for the food, and compliments them. Kai watches and listens silently, while he and Nya exchange looks across the table.

After dinner, Kai and Nya wash and dry up the dishes while Ray and Maya let Zane off.

"It's his first night here!" Maya exclaims When Kai complains after Zane leaves the room. "We need to show him some hospitality!" Kai sighs and Nya stifles a giggle.

_This one will be hard to deal with. _

**Jay**

Jay sits cross legged on his bedroom floor, wishing for the millionth time that he either didn't live where he did, or that no one at school knew he lived there. Today had been another day of teasing about his home, and his mood only sinks as the night approaches. Sure, his mum tries to cheer him up all the time, but tonight will not be the night she succeeds. Instead, Jay leaves the RV, wandering out into the organised chaos that is his father's scrapyard.

He clambers over metal, ducks under wood, skirts around wires, and signally reaches the corner furthest away from the van. He pushes through the convoluted junk in his way and plucks a single music box from the pile of trash. He examines the trinket, turning it and analysing every side of it. Its silver lining shimmers in the low sunlight. Smiling, Jay winds up the contraption. His sadness returns when the machinery only clicks and whirrs, no twinkling music emitting from the box. Frowning, he pops the box open. His mouth drops slightly when he sees the several cogs inside the box. _Maybe now I've found something to cheer me up tonight. _

Jay scavenges through the trash in the junkyard, searching for the final cog. He must have dropped it somewhere around here... aha! Found it. He drops the cog back into its place before placing the stars back on the top, hearing them click back into place. Holding his breath, Jay winds the mechanism back up again. The music plays from the box, and Jay's heart lifts again. Smiling to himself, he lets his emotions slip away as he falls into a daydream, the twinkle of the tune in his ears controlling everything. His imagination takes him down a little calming stroll, and Jay feels better when the music comes to a slow stop, the cogs finally becoming stationary again. _Maybe things can get better. _

Jay slowly makes his way back to the RV, and his mother approaches him as he enters.

"Oh Jay, there you are." She says, her voice in its eternal happy state. "I got a letter from the school today. Have you been told about a trip into Ninjago City?" Her words ignite a flame in Jay's chest, and he realises his heart has sped up. Ninjago City, the wonderous heart of Ninjago, with its hundreds of billboards, and the bright lights, the thousands of restaurants, so many you could eat at a new place for at least a year, home of Ninjago's number one noodle house, and _so _much more! Jay squeals as he shakes his head. His mother smiles before looking back down at the sheet of parchment in her hands. She bites her lip as she reads. _That's not a good sign... _

"What's wrong, ma?" He asks, but his mother snaps out of whatever she was in, her ever-present smile on her lips again, a twinkle back in her eyes.

"Oh, nothing son. Don't you worry about a thing!" She waves him off, and Jay soon retreats to his bedroom again. Sighing, he flops down onto his bed and curls up under his favourite blanket, falling asleep in minutes.

**Cole**

Cole jolts awake, his head nearly dropping onto the table. A few people stifle snickers and the teacher shoots a look over his shoulder before continuing his mind-numbingly boring recount on the history of the Triple Tiger Sashay. Cole yawns to himself before laying his head back down his hand, wishing desperately that he had gotten more sleep last night. Alternatively, the end of the day wouldn't be too bad, since it would mean that he can go home and just take a quick nap...

"So, your homework for tonight!" The teacher exclaims from the front of the class, and Cole groans inwardly as his stomach drops slightly. "Three pages on the history of this routine, its performing quartet and, most importantly, the most difficult dance move in history, the Triple Tiger Sashay! Due in tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Cole exclaims, his anxiety levels skyrocketing. Looks like tonight will be sleepless too. He claps a hand over his mouth when he realises that he spoke out loud, the entire class and the teacher all staring at him. The teacher has a furious glint in his eye, while the other students try not to laugh.

"Yes, Brookstone. _Tomorrow._" The teacher replies, his voice eerily calm. Cole bites his lip. "Why? Is that too soon for you? In that case, why don't I say five pages? Just to prove that you should never challenge what a teacher says again, if you know what's good for you." The other kids struggle to hold back their laughs. "I don't know why the rest of you are laughing!" The teacher shouts, the class silencing themselves quickly. "That goes for all of you. _Five _pages, due in _tomorrow._" The class then groans collectively, most shooting Cole vengeful looks. Cole bites his lip harder.

Five minutes later, just before the bell rings, the teacher tells Cole to stay behind after class. Cole's stomach sinks further towards his feet, which seem to be glued to the ground. Once again, some of the other kids poke fun as they leave, and Cole feels slightly more relieved during their absences.

"I don't know why you're smiling, young man." The teacher booms at him, and Cole ducks his head as he turns to face his professor.

"Sorry sir." He replies, his voice tiny in the empty room.

"Brookstone, I feel that you need to know something." The teacher continues, and Cole raises his gaze cautiously. "You are falling incredibly behind on the work. I've barely seen you making notes, and you seem distant from my lessons." Cole is suspicious about the man's concerned tone and careful words. _These teachers don't like me, especially this one. So why is he sounding so kind? _That is, until he gets to the point. "You either pay full attention in my classes and you do your work, or you get out! You hear me? I don't want any more funny business from you again, or you won't be going on our trip to Ninjago City in two weeks for that special performance with your quartet, you get me?" Cole nods, ashamed, and the teacher straightens his back again. "Good. Now leave. You are dismissed."

"Thank you sir." Cold mumbles before swiftly turning and exiting the classroom, refusing to allow the tears in his eyes to spill.

**Zane**

Zane sits with his legs crossed at the base of a large tree in the forest. He looks up, still able to see the blacksmiths shop on the hill. Smiling softly to himself, Zane stands and makes his way further into the forest, putting in his best efforts to remember his way back to Ignacia again. He slowly walks deeper into the forest, examining the trees and plants around him, carefully avoiding any thorns and nettles at his feet. He reaches a clearing in the middle of the forest. He looks around himself, choosing a tree to sit under to meditate. He decides upon a large oak tree in the shadows of a birch and a cork. He crosses his legs again and closes his eyes, laying his hands on his knees and raising his head towards the sky, which started to shift from a bright blue to a deep red to a dark purple. The sun slowly backs down towards the horizon, holding onto the day tightly, reluctant to give it up to the moon. Zane keeps his eyes closed but listens intently to every noise the outside world has to offer on this warm spring night. He hears a fox creep about, screaming as foxes do at night. Zane hears two birds tweeting and twittering in the trees around him, calling to each other. He listens as an owl swoops past him, hooting quietly. Mice scuttle past him, desperate to hide from the bird of prey above them. Zane hears the owl dive and a mouse squeak, but it soon ends. The owl flaps away, not another sound emitting from its beak. Zane smiles slightly as the world continues to turn, predators catching prey, eggs getting laid and hatching, things being born and dying.

A different noise soon enters Zane's sound library. Leaves rustle and twigs snap as something larger makes its way through the forest. Zane's eyes shoot open even as the stag and doe come bounding into the clearing, leaping past Zane with grace and ease, their heads held high as they run. Behind the deer, a boy in all black emerges from the trees, stumbling into the clearing. Zane's eyebrows rise up his forehead, and the boy yelps quietly from shock as he stands, announcing his own presence.

"Hello." Zane speaks first, not wanting an awkward silence to come forward.

"Hi." The other boy replies, fiddling with the hems of his shirt. His shoes are bright and shiny, glistening gently in the dying light.

"I am Zane." The boy in white continues. The boy in black slowly lifts his gaze.

"I'm Cole." He replies, smiling gently. Zane returns the gesture.

**A/N: *grins widely* eek. **

**Okay, so now there's more ninja meeting! Yay! *insert Kronk meme* Oh yeah, it's all coming together. **

**Anyway, all jokes aside for a bit, that was the newest chapter of We Aren't Heroes. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know exactly how Jay will be introduced into the fray, don't any of you worry about that, so hopefully the team will be running around together in this world too XD**

**Anyway, I think Lloyd will be coming in soon, but I don't really know when. Hopefully within the next three chapters. **

**Anyway, I can't really think of anything to say here, so I'll see you all next time. **

**Bye!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	6. The Boy From Next Door

**Sorry I've taken so long to get this story out again! I know, I'm a terrible human being! I am trying to get stuff out more, but depression, therapy, family, school and homework aren't making it any easier. Not to mention a massive lack of sleep. **

**But finally, after this time, here is the sixth chapter of We Aren't Heroes. Enjoy!**

**Kai**

Kai still wonders where Zane could have come from, even a week after he appeared in his home. In fact, nearly two weeks. The new boy doesn't own anything from before he lost his memories except his clothes, which have lost their old pure whiteness, now a dull grey with brown splodges around his ankles. His light blue eyes seem to pierce Kai's very self, seeing deep into his mind and soul. He feels like Zane can tell exactly what he's like by doing nothing but looking at him, and it freaks the brunette out. Everything about Zane seems to be perfect - his eyes are a bright icy blue, and look quite attractive in colour, while his skin is clear and his blonde locks are straight atop his head. Yeah, everything about this new boy is perfect.

Kai soon gets over Zane's perfection, however, after 'accidentally' putting one of his red T-shirts in with his white shirts and pants, all of which had come out of the wash a deep, vibrant pink. While Kai had been stifling laughter, Maya had rushed around to find different clothes for Zane to wear. She even ran down to the nearest shop to buy him new shirts. Kai soon stopped laughing at his father's furious expression.

After a week and a half or so, Zane started going to school with Kai and Nya. He had soon been accepted into the class, and even became liked until it got out that he was 'from Ignacia' like the Smith siblings. From then on, Zane's school life was different, a bit more similar to the lives of the siblings. He could often be found in the library, reading alone, or skipping stones on the pond at the front of the school or something. He would also sit cross-legged under trees at the bottom of the fields and observe the birds that would fly overhead or perch in the surrounding oaks, singing and calling.

Kai, Nya and Zane would walk home together each day unless one had a club, and that one was normally Zane, giving the siblings an hour or so to themselves, which Kai would almost always use to discuss the boy in white, much to Nya's disliking.

"I don't get why we can't just talk about something else!" Nya cries out on Kai's fifth attempt to talk about Zane after school. "I mean, we have the inset day coming up, which will let us all just do our own thing for once, free of homework or school! We can get to know Zane better or just spend some time on our own!" Kai bites his lip. He can't argue with Nya - he often can't. He sighs and nods without a word.

"I was thinking we could go into Ninjago City," Nya pipes up after a few minutes of awkward silence between the two siblings, "you know, just the three of us, you, me and Zane. It would be a great chance to get to know him, and he could learn more about us, you may even find out that you both actually _do _share _something _in common! Besides, it'll be an inset day, so we'll have the entire day! No waiting until after school, no short time out because of dinner or curfew cutting it to short to actually do something, no limits, no boundaries! We could do whatever we want!" She smiles, and Kai grins in response. The idea is perfect, they just need Zane to agree...

He does. The new boy in white nods quite vigorously when Nya and Kai ask him about the plan to spend the day in Ninjago City, grinning.

"So it's settled," Kai smiles as the trio walk up the stairs to their rooms. "We all agree to go into Ninjago City together on Tuesday?" The other two nod quickly. "Good." Nya waves to the two boys before turning towards her bedroom door.

"Alright. See you guys tomorrow!" She says, barely holding back a yawn. The two boys return the bid of farewell and enter their room, making beelines for their beds. Kai allows himself a toothy grin as he slides into his bed and turns off his bedside lamp.

Next Tuesday wouldn't be too heinous a day...

**Jay**

Jay couldn't wait for the trip to Ninjago City next Tuesday. After all, Ninjago City is where miracles happen! He got his best idea for the science fair there, and that had won first place in the contest! He had made a few friends there, and there were soooo many cool inventions and other items on sale there! Ninjago City was also _always _the location used in those romantic movies his parents watched on Sunday evenings.

Jay had always loved the city, all of its bright billboards and extravagant parades, the flashing lights and its hundreds of restaurants, so many you could probably eat at a new place every night for about a year! Jay grins to himself as he imagines walking through the city with his classmates, ogling at the shops and billboards. And maybe, just _maybe_, he'll find someone. Someone important...

The only issue he knows of is the financial one.

Neither of his parents work, being rather aged (Jay could never bring himself to call his parents 'old', unlike some of the other kids at his school), and he knows that money can be quite tight at times. Nevertheless, his mother is adamant about him going. His father tries his best to make brand new inventions to better the entirety of Ninjago to be sold at fairs and markets, but nothing is as top-quality as he would like - most stuff falls apart before it can be transported to be sold. Jay will often find himself in the yard trying to help his father. When he isn't working on his own original inventions, that is.

Thursdays are always rather busy for every member of the Walker family. Jay has school, Ed's always working harder as Saturday rolls closer, and Edna cleans the RV and makes her best dinners in the evenings. Everyone has their schedule, and sticks to it.

Until Jay comes home late.

Edna paces in yard as Ed takes the family's only car out towards the city in search of their son.

Meanwhile, back at school, Jay has to hold his own for a bit. _No running away this time. _

The three older boys pin him against one of the walls of the alleyway outside school, holding him by his jacket sleeves. His wrists pang under the pressure of their grips, and he can feel the the to wince creep up his arms. He chokes back the tears that stab at his eyes like needles.

"Aw, is he gonna _cry?_" One of the boys mocks in a singsong voice, and the others laugh. One more chuckle joins the three of the boys holding him, and Jay recognises it. He knows that laugh all too well.

Jason strolls toward him calmly, hands deep in his pockets. He shakes his head as his laughter rings around Jay, bouncing off the walls.

"So," he taunts, his voice deep and booming out over the smaller boy, "the rabbit's been cornered by the wolves, huh?" The three other boys chuckle among themselves as one steps back, letting go of Jay's left shoulder. Jason's black hoodie blends in with the shadows of the alleyway until he pulls the hood down, exposing his light skin and dark curls. His hazel eyes seem to glow in the darkness. Jay gulps.

The older boy stops just in front of him. Jason keeps his hands planted deeply in his pockets and slowly lifts his gaze, running it up the entirety of Jay's height. He holds in a shudder.

"So, Microsoft Nerd, what failed plans you come up with recently?" He taunts, and the other three boys laugh at the nickname.

"Oh come on." Jay replies, his anxiety suddenly silenced by his rage. "That's an old nickname. Surely you can come up with something new!" The response he gets is a harsh punch in the stomach. Jay pulls his legs up to his middle, the two boys just managing to hold him up without the extra support. The four older boys sneer in delight at Jay's show of pain and weakness.

"You didn't like that, did ya, punk?" Jason jeers, and the other boys' smiles only grow. "That should teach ya not to talk back to me, you little shit!" Jay's face soon straightens, and he pulls the tears back from the surfaces of his eyes. _Not today. Not again. _

"Oh." Jason's voice is hardly above a whisper, yet all four other pairs of eyes are on him in an instant. He grins. "Mummy and Daddy haven't come to save you yet! Oh no! Have they finally kicked the bucket?" The other boys roar with laughter, the two holding Jay loosening their grips slightly. The boy in blue tries to fight against their fingers, only for the boys to sober up and slam him hard back into the wall. Jay can feel his head smack against the bricks behind him.

"Nuh-uh, not so fast, Bluebell!" Jason taunts, and the laughter rings out again. Jay snarls once more before he sees the fist come hurtling through the air towards him again. The world goes black.

Jay wakes up back home in his bed. He lays on his left side, staring out into the room. He blinks rapidly to stop the ache in his head caused by the bright light, only to realise the pain is in the back of his head. He gingerly raises a hand to it. He can feel a hard bumpy lump beneath his fingers and realises it's a scab. From what, he doesn't know. Well, he can't remember anyway. He lifts his head off the pillow with a large amount of effort - it feels so much heavier now. He runs his gaze around the room properly to find his mother standing in the doorway, looking at him sternly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" She asks. Jay can feel the tears prick at his eyes again, and his mother rushes forwards to comfort him.

"I'm sorry Ma." Jay sobs into her shoulder. "I'm really sorry."

**Cole**

Cole finishes his five-page essay after three long hours of the night, and he's never felt so tired. The work is probably absolutely crap and full of errors, but he doesn't care. At least he's done it. He creeps over to his bed and slides in, pulling his duvet over his head to block out the cracks of light peeking their ways through the gaps in his closed curtains. Wait, aren't the blinds meant to stop them? Cole groans and pulls himself out of his bed, lumbering over to the window. He pulls the right curtain back to expose wide open blinds. He sighs and shakes his head.

As he reaches up to close the blinds, he spots something out of the corner of his eye. Not something, _someone. _

And not just a someone, four someones.

Four people stand on different rooftops in his sight, watching over different parts of the town. One is in red, one in blue, one black and one white. Cole gasps. _The Ninja?! _

The four boys jump onto one rooftop, flipping as they fly through the air. They seem to converse in low tones, and Cole keeps his eye on them. The one in red flips his hood back, exposing his dark skin and brown hair. He crosses his arms over his chest. The one in blue copies him, pulling his hood off. He has hair that looks to be a light brown or red in the moonlight, with rather light skin. The one in white reveals pale skin and gentle hazel eyes, and the one in black soon removes his own hood.

Cole gasps.

It's...

It's the boy from next door. Cody.

His hair is dark brown, nearly black, while his eyes are a lighter hazel. His skin is quite dark too, though not quite as much as Cole's.

_So it's true. Those kidnapped boys really _did _become the Ninja! But how?_

**Zane**

Zane returns to the forest day after day, but he doesn't see Cole again. The black haired boy said he came from a village a short way away, but Zane is still too unfamiliar with his surroundings and location to wander off without Kai, Nya, Ray or Maya to accompany him, and he can not trust himself to leave the village alone just yet - it's not even been two weeks yet! Cole also said he came from a dancing school, hence his shiny dancing shoes, so Zane guesses he comes from Melodia, a small town near the mountains, somewhere between Ignacia and Jamanakai Village.

Zane soon remembers something else from their conversation. Cole had mentioned a performance with his quartet in none other than Ninjago City. An idea burns bright in Zane's head, and he smiles to himself.

"Seriously?" Kai nearly shouts at Zane, and Nya tries to hush him while Zane merely looks at the brunette with a blank face. "A _dance show_? Are you out of your mind?"

"Kai!" Nya hisses before shooting Zane an apologetic look. She glares at Kai until Zane replies.

"Don't worry about it Nya."

"No!" She barely keeps her voice down either, but it's too late for her to stop herself now. "Kai, this is Zane's new friend we're talking about here! Surely we should go, not for the dance, but for Zane!" She leans in towards her brother and whispers something to him, and Kai groans.

"No, Nya. I'm not going to some stupid dance show!" Kai retorts, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. Nya sighs, defeated for now.

"Kai." Zane speaks up. "Please. Not for me. For my friend. He needs as much support as he can get! I think you guys would all get along really well too!" He pleads, and Kai sighs. Now who's defeated. Zane tries to hide his smile. The brunette sighs once more before muttering something. When asked to speak up by his sister, Kai repeats himself, sounding more than slightly frustrated.

"Fine, I'll go!"

Zane and Nya grin as Kai frowns slightly.

_At least we can be there for Cole. _

**I know, I'm a terrible human being! I haven't been active for ages, but I have an excuse! Not an alibi! I know! **

**Let's just say that I've been losing interest in a few of my past hobbies and whatnot, but I am trying to stay enthusiastic about writing since it's what I'd love to do when I get a job. I'd love to be an author and/or and English teacher at my current high school, so I need to be as enthusiastic about writin as possible! I've already given up drawing and songwriting, I _need _to keep this hobby! And get those two back...**

**Anyway, I have loads of other stories on the go too, so I need to get those out again, then I'll have the seventh chapter for this story out too. I have no schedule, just a plan. So yeah, expect all my other stories to have updates again before this one has the seventh instalment. Unless I say otherwise. **

**So now I have to go. **

**Sleep, I am coming!**

**(Hopefully!)**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! See you soon!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	7. Match up

**Hiya! I have returned!**

**Christmas break is here once again, so hopefully I'll have stuff up more regularly now! Then again, is already nearly New Year, and I've actually not had loads up recently...**

**Anyway, I'm about to start rambling again, so it's time to redirect the attention to this new chapter! Yay!**

**So, this is the seventh chapter of We Aren't Heroes! I understand that it's been a while since the previous update, so I will try to add as much context in each section as I can, but you can always reread the previous chapter if you can't fully remember what happened. Before we begin, however, replies to reviews! I haven't done this in a while, so I am sorry for that. **

**Replies to reviews:**

**Dyphen: first up, your review made me laugh a lot harder than it probably should have. Also, the whole 'owo I smell a plot point' line had me literally in tears the first time I read it, so thank you very much for that. Also, yes, 'Jack time' is coming, as are times for the other ninja. For now, however, 'Cody time' may be the only ninja time we have. Third, yes, Tuesday is a minor plot point. Or, should I say, in the context of the chapter, _today _is a major plot point. Not giving too much away, but yes, it's a big deal. Massive apologies for what I did to Jay previous chapter, but it had to be done. Also, glad you picked up on the Sanders Sides reference. I really need to find other nicknames for the ninja though... anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. At least, you seem to be. And yes, Jay can be a Logan sometimes lol. But yes, Zane _IS HUMAN_ in this story, all the ninja are. However, Zane's 'stand in' ninja is not human - he is a Nindroid. So yes, keeping _some _canon in this. Finally, thank you a lot for your comments at the end of your review, and I feel like these stories are worth it. **

**As you all know, your reviews mean the world to me, so don't hesitate to leave one whenever you want to! For now, though, I might hecc around and eat a chocolate Santa I got for Secret Santa this year. I mean, if I'm gonna stay awake and get this posted, I'm gonna need _some _form of sugar in my system...**

**Now, without further ado, here's the seventh chapter of We Aren't Heroes!**

**Kai**

Kai steps out of his room, yawning still. He shakes his head rapidly, trying to clear his thoughts. Zane and Nya are already downstairs, dressed and ready to leave. Once again, waiting on him. Well, he can't help it if his hair isn't cooperating or if he wakes up just a little bit late or if he can't find his favourite flame-patterned hoodie with the dragon on it, can he?

He plonks down in one of the chairs at the table and rubs his eyes groggily before reaching out for the box of cereal left on the table. Nya walks into the room in a pair of blue jeans and a crimson band t-shirt that Kai knows she favours. Zane follows her, once again in his pure white shirt and light blue jeans that match his eyes.

"Morning." Nya greets him, her voice perky as ever. Somehow.

"I still don't understand how you're such a morning person." He replies by way of greeting. Nya only rolls her eyes.

"Nor do I. It's just an instinct I guess." She shrugs her shoulders before pulling herself up onto the counter and laying her arms on her thighs, leaning forward slightly and letting her shoulders hunch. "You do realise we're gonna need to leave soon if we're going to get to Ninjago City without mayhem on the streets again."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Her brunette brother sighs as he wolfs down the cereal in his bowl. Zane tilts his head to the side slightly as a confused animal might.

"What do you mean, 'mayhem on the streets'?" He asks curiously, his voice pure and innocent as a child's. Nya and Kai exchange glances before Nya takes over.

"Normally the streets of Ninjago City are absolute chaos. You can't get anywhere without people jostling you side to side and it's practically impossible to cross the road without being a sardine in a tin - everyone's so tightly packed together. So, whenever any of us try to go there, we all try to get there earlier rather than later so we can avoid all that." Zane nods slowly when Nya finishes her explanation and they share small smiles. Kai soon finishes his breakfast and the three leave the house, setting their course for the city.

After half an hour of walking, the trio arrive in the capital city of the Realm. The giant skyscapers stand tall and proud over the teenagers, casting them in dark shadows. As Nya predicted, people fill every inch of the streets and cars crowd the roads despite the earlier hour. Kai soon takes the lead and guides Nya and Zane downtown towards the theatre that Cole, Zane's new friend, will be performing with his quartet.

"Wait, Kai." Zane grabs Kai's hoodie sleeve and the brunette spins around much faster than his liking. "We do not need to be at the theatre for about an hour." He explains, releasing Kai's wrist.

"Oh cool." Nya pipes up, her eyes shining. "So that means that, theoretically, we could go to the park or something together. Get to know each other a bit better." Her eyes land on Kai and seem to burn into his, causing a light pink blush to rise to his cheeks. He ducks his gaze to the pavement.

"I agree with Nya. That sounds like fun." Zane smiles. Nya keeps her eyes fixed on Kai.

"What do you say, Kai?" She asks, an underlying tone of dominance in her voice. He'll have to help her get rid of that later on today...

"Sure. Sounds good." He soon replies, slowly lifting his eyes from the grey pavement. Nya grins and her eyes light up before she leads the two boys towards the park.

The trio arrive at the park within fifteen minutes. They sit down on a slight rise overlooking the main field area of the park. As usual, there is a rather large group of boys with a football using the space near them as a makeshift pitch. Less than five minutes pass before the ball rolls away from the pith and slows beside the trio of teenagers on the rise. With a shine in her eyes, Nya pushes herself up and kicks the ball to take it back down to the group of older teens. There are shouts and taunting, sarcastic cheers emanating from the group as she approaches. One of the boys separates himself and slowly walks towards her.

"Thanks for that, kid. Fancy passing my ball back to me now?" He asks. One of the other boys calls out.

"Come on, little bitch! Pass it over!" His shout is echoed by cheers and taunts. Nya simply crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes.

"At least let me take a shot!" She jokes, gesturing at the goal behind the group with a cocky smile on her face. The entire team pause to exchange looks before bursting into laughter.

"Alright, alright." The boy looming over Nya chuckles, trying to calm his team down. "I'll make you a deal." Nya simply raises an eyebrow.

"I'm listening."

**Jay**

Jay can't believe the situation he's gotten himself into.

His class has long since vanished from his sight and he now wanders aimlessly through the park. His best option is to simply head home, but then he'd have to explain to his mum why he's not on the field trip and then he'd be forced to tell her that she had pretty much wasted her money...

No, he would rather spend the day in the city and just take the punishment at school. That would be easier.

His calm stroll in the park is ruined by a familiar group of laughs. Dread settles in his stomach as he nears two teens around his age who glare at none other than Jason and his crew. They must have bunked off...

What takes Jay's interest, however, is the girl standing before his childhood bully.

Her short black hair sits in a bob around her head and she stares furiously up at the older teen. She is confident, no doubt about it, and her posture proves it. Her arms are crossed tightly over her chest and her dark brown eyes are narrow. Pressed tightly between her right foot and the grass is Jason's football.

Jay stares on as the girl from the Jamanakai Village news broadcast says something to Jason that he can't hear from his position on the path.

"Okay, here's the deal." Jason sneers. "You score against one of us, we leave you and your friends alone. However, we manage to block all your attempts to score for a full two minutes, and you three pack up and leave the park. Oh, and we get to decide who you face off against. Agreed? Perfect." The girl shakes her head and gasps echo through the group - _no one _stands up to Jason.

"No." The girl replies, still shaking her head. "_Here's _the deal. I take on your entire group. I score, you all pack up and leave the park. You guys block all my attempts to score, we leave the park. Simple." The older boys exchange looks and a few words before Jason nods to the younger girl.

"You've got yourself a deal. Just don't come crying when we destroy you!" He taunts, and laughs ripple through his crew.

Jason soon steps back from in front of her and pulls his crew into a tight huddle. The girl's brunette brother, also shown in the broadcast, approaches her from behind. She shrugs him off calmly before she snaps.

"I can handle them myself, Kai!" She growls before one of the boys in the huddle yells out.

"Oi! You can't help her!"

"He's not!" The girl shouts back, her fury evident in her voice. "He's just being the typical overprotective older brother that he always is." The boy, Kai, bites his lip as he slowly walks back to the other boy on the grassy rise.

"Okay boys, let's do this!" Jason cheers as he pulls out of the huddle and stands closer to the girl. "Just as planned! Rich, Jake, Jared, Paul, you guys get back! Kurt, Ram, you guys come forward. JD, back a bit. Carl, goal, now. I'm leading this assault whether we need a striker or not! Let's go!" He yells as he punches the air. His team echo his cheers as they run into their positions. The girl simply scowls as her brother and the other boy watch on in silent anger. Jay just bites his lip. This girl is digging her own grave.

The girl flicks her short bob out of her eyes before leaning forward and lunging into play. Her opponents react quickly, fanning out to try and block all her options. The girl weaves between the team members, ducking and stepping. She back-tracks and swerves around the older teens. Jason, Rich and Jake all manage to kick the ball out from her reach, but mere seconds pass before it's back in her grasp. Jay can feel his heart beat faster in his chest as the seconds count down to the end of the minute. Only fifteen seconds remain...

The girl side-steps around Jason.

She lunges forward with the ball, between Rich and Jared. Paul and JD stare on with terror in their eyes.

She kicks the ball towards the goal.

Carl leaps to the side even as the ball flies over to the opposite end of the net.

With only five seconds left, the ball slams into the back net.

The two boys supporting the girl stand and cheer loudly, punching the air in victory. The girl merely flicks her hair from her face and walks off the pitch as Jason collapses to the floor and cries out.

"That was awesome!" Kai, the brunette, shouts to his sister as he high-fives her. Sighing and panting, the girl drops to the grassy ground of the rise and signals to Jason's crew to leave the park. Grumbling and groaning, the group stand and storm through the gates. The girl laughs as Jay approaches her.

"Hey." He says, and the girl bolts upright. "That was pretty epic, what you just did. No one ever has the guts to stand up to Jason and his crew."

The girl is silent for a few seconds before smiling. "Thanks." She replies. Jay can feel his heart speed up again.

"I'm Jay, by the way."

"Nya. This is Kai, my older brother, and Zane. He's staying with us for a while."

"Oh cool." Jay hesitates, waving to the other guys.

"Hello." Zane grins, his eyes wide and gentle. Kai, on the other hand, stays silent and glares at Jay, who shuffles uncomfortably on his feet.

"So, what are you three doing in town today?" Jay asks, tearing his gaze off Kai and looking back down towards Nya.

"We have an inset day today. What about you?"

Jay quickly explains his field trip and his current situation. Kai's expression softens slightly and he laughs when Jay mentions that he's lost.

"How did you manage to lose your entire field group?" He chuckles, shaking his head even as Nya elbows him sharply.

"We can help you find them, if you want." Zane chirps. Jay smiles.

"Thanks, but I don't know where they could be in the city."

"I'm sure we'll find them." Nya replies as she stands and places a hand gently on Jay's shoulder.

**Cole**

Cole bites his lip and paces backwards and forwards nervously as the room fills up with parents and viewers. His three other quartet members stand over to one side, trying to rehearse.

"Cole, get over here!" One of them yells, and the boy slowly shuffles over. "We've gotta try this one more time before the curtain rises. You _can _do the Triple Tiger Sashay, right? Like your dad said you could."

Cole can't speak. His tongue feels like cardboard in his mouth, his throat like the Sea of Sand. That kid, Zane, that he had met in the forest near Ignacia had said that he would bring his two friends along for the ride too, but what if Zane wasn't coming? What if the boy in white had lied? Anxiety grips at him tightly, refusing to let go. He swallows.

Finally, after a few minutes, the curtain lifts. People fill every seat in the room, all eyes fixed on the stage as though hypnotised. Everyone claps and a few cheers break out over the noise as the four boys walk onto the stage. They bow low, their movements in perfect sync. They stand, and the music begins. Cole's eyes land on Zane seared roundabout in the middle of the room beside a girl with short black hair and a boy with brown spikes. His breath hitches in his throat and a light blush finds its way onto his cheeks. He ducks his gaze down to the shiny wooden planks of the stage.

The music starts up. This is it.

His time to 'shine'.

Cole knows the dance went terribly. First off, he knows he was a beat or two off, and he totally ruined everything. Secondly, those kids with Zane had completely thrown him off course - those were definitely the two kids he saw running away from Jamanakai Village in the news broadcast about a week ago. Third - Zane himself had distracted him, though naturally, Cole is not going to admit that to anyone. Lastly, but most importantly, he had messed up the Triple Tiger Sashay. Again.

As if the first time back when he was seven wasn't humiliation enough, he had failed to complete the move today as well. Like the first time, he knew what he had to do, and when he had to do it. He had been in the correct position and everything. His timing was right. He just... couldn't do it.

The first flip had gone well. He had landed on his teammate's head and flipped again. He had landed and pushed himself off. Then he messed up.

The third teammate was just out of Cole's reach. He tried to call out to the boy in front of him, but the kid hadn't heard him. Cole had tumbled to the stage, face first.

Now, he sits behind the stage with three very angry and embarrassed teammates and an ice pack over his right eye. His nose is still gradually dripping blood, and one of the supervisors has disappeared somewhere to find more tissue. The leader of the group, and oldest member, crosses his arms and steps toward Cole furiously.

"You said you could do it!" He yells, and Cole can feel the guilt creeping through his bones.

"No, I didn't!" He replies indignantly. "_My dad _said I could. I've never been able to do the Triple Tiger."

"Then why did your dad say you could?! And why didn't you say that you can't?!"

"Because I didn't know that he told you! I've told you multiple times, we should have met up together to rehearse! But no, you never listened to me! Besides, my dad probably said that I can do it so that he could impress all your parents, because no one has ever completed it since it was created!" Cole can't believe what he's hearing. His quartet leader's stupidity and stubbornness infuriate him, and he wishes he could set that frustration free.

"Well, if anything, he's only done the opposite." The older boy growls. "He's only disappointed us." Without another word, he stomps out of the room. The other two quartet members leave without saying anything. Neither of them even spare Cole a glance.

Closing his left eye and sighing deeply, Cole leans back in the blue plastic chair. He wishes he can be anywhere other than here.

"Are you okay, Cole?" A slightly familiar voice calls to him from the doorway. Cole's left eye flicks open with joy and shock.

"Zane!" He exclaims happily at the sight of his new best friend at the door, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. I hit my head on the stage when I fell, though, and I think one of Joseph's shoes hit my eye. I've still got a slightly bloody nose too." Cole shrugs at Zane's concerned expression. "I'm surprised, I've not really hurt my arms or legs or anything, and my nose isn't broken, apperently. No major damage." Cole lifts his eyes to find three other people in the doorway. Two are the kids from the news broadcast, the girl and the boy with the spikes, but the other kid Cole has never seen before.

His eyes are strikingly blue and his skin is rather pale. His hair is light brown, edging on the ginger side, and hangs over his forehead on the left hand side. His right eyebrow has a large split running down it.

The boy with the spiked hair dons a scarlet hoodie with a fire decal along the bottom, the tips of the flames brushing against the feet and tail of a magnificent-looking ruby dragon, more fire escaping from between its fangs.

The girl has her arms crossed over a crimson band t-shirt with white decal showing the symbol of one of Cole's favourite bands, and he smiles to himself. She taps her foot gently against the floor. Both the kids from the news broadcast have similar dark blue jeans.

Noticing Cole's interest, Zane smiles and speaks up.

"These are my friends. This is Kai, Nya, and Jay." He says, pointing to the boy with the spikes, the black-haired girl and the ginger boy in turn. Cole sends a half-smile their way before Zane introduces him. "Guys, this is Cole." The three greet him cheerily before he gestures towards Nya's t-shirt. "Panic! At The Disco, huh?" She nods vigorously and grins slightly. "I'm a fan too. Vices and Virtues is the best album, if you ask me." The girl's smile widens as she nods more.

"I totally agree! Also, Pray For The Wicked is a great one too. But Pretty. Odd is kinda lame if you ask me." She replies, and it's Cole's turn to nod in agreement.

"True, but Death Of A Bachelor and Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die are brilliant albums too."

"You could say that Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die is..." She clears her throat deliberately, "worse than nicotine." Cole laughs loudly and can feel the other guys staring at him and Nya with confused looks on their faces.

"But then again," Cole continues once his laughter has died down a bit. "Pretty. Odd has Northern Downpour on it, which is a pretty good song." Nya nods slowly.

"That's true, Northern Downpour is a fan-favourite, and it's basically the Panic! At The Disco version of what Welcome To The Black Parade is to My Chemical Romance, or what Addict With A Pen is to Twenty Øne Piløts fans. I don't really understand what the hype is about it. But I can't say much, because I love Addict With A Pen and Welcome To The Black Parade, so..."

"Nor do I, to be honest, but it is a bit personal to the band, I'd say, since it's actually about their band life and performances and whatnot." Cole replies, and Nya pulls a face before shrugging slightly. Cole leans towards Zane though a smile remains on his face.

"I thought you said you were only bringing two?" He hisses to him,slightly curious, and Zane turns to face him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I had intended to only bring Kai and Nya, but we met Jay today and he's become a friend." Zane replies, and Cole nods slowly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all, but I'm sorry for ruining your show."

"What are you talking about?" The gingery-haired boy, Jay, exclaims. He's loud and Cole bites his lip slightly. Obnoxious kids have never been in Cole's 'good-books' for long.

"I couldn't do the Triple Tiger Sashay. I ruined everything." Cole repeats, his voice revealing the self-hatred he feels. It breaks as he continues. "Again."

"So what if you couldn't do that one move?" The girl, Nya, asks. Cole looks at her with a wide eye. "The rest of the show was pretty good! Especially, as you said to that other kid a minute ago, you never met up with your quartet to rehearse."

"Yeah," her brother Kai, chimes in, though he seems slightly reluctant to do so. "The show was actually pretty good. Sure, that one move may not have gone as you planned, but the rest of it did, right?" Cole nods slowly. Kai grins. "There you go, then!"

"Thanks, guys. Geez, we've only just met and you're all trying to help me out."

"It's what we do." Zane chirps from beside Cole. "For example, Kai and Nya have taken me in until I figure out what I am going to do with my life. Also, today we tried to help Jay find his field trip group again after he lost them." Cole sighs slightly and smiles. He already likes these kids.

**Zane**

Zane grins as he, Kai and Nya return home. The sun sets behind them, slowly sinking down below the horizon to light up the other side of the globe for a few hours before returning in the morning. With a distant, distatched expression on his face, he reflects over the day's events - meeting Jay, watching Nya's football match against that group of older kids, comforting Cole after his botched performance, spending a few hours with the four others before adding Cole and Jay's phone numbers to Kai and Nya's mobiles for later use.

"You good there, Zane?" Kai's voice penetrates Zane's thoughts, and the boys shakes his head to clear it before fixing his eyes on Kai.

"So... is that a no?" Nya asks, concern lacing her voice. Zane quickly shakes his head again.

"I am sorry, I had zoned out. I shook my head to clear it then to tell you that the answer to your question, Nya, is negative - I am fine, I was just not paying attention. I apologise if I worried either of you." Zane soon retreats into his thoughts again, and he pays little attention to the conversation next to him.

The three teens arrive home soon after, and Zane immediately heads to his room and flops down onto his bed. Kai follows him into the room and laughs at Zane, who lays spread-eagled on the edge of his white sheets. He stares up at the plain white ceiling and smiles to himself before pushing himself upright and pulling a loose pair of pyjamas from one of the drawers on the other side of the room. Absentmindedly pulling the pyjamas on, he stares at the opposite wall that faces him. Kai watches him curiously until his mother, Maya, calls him from downstairs.

In Kai's absence, Zane creeps towards the brunette's bed and attempts to unlock his phone. Within two minutes, he's in, and he quickly shifts through the apps to find a search engine. He rapidly types up a question and hits the search button. The search engine takes a few seconds before it pulls up hundreds of thousands of websites and recommended articles for Zane to read. Smiling slightly, the boy perches on the edge of Kai's crimson sheets and scrolls down the page past all of the adverts until he finds an article on none other than the website... _Buzzfeed. _Great. Just perfect...

Zane skims the article before quickly closing the tab and sitting cross-legged on his pure white bed. He closes his eyes and rests his hands on his knees comfortably, allowing his mind to ease itself and become calmer. Following the steps mentioned on the website, Zane meditates until Kai's footsteps are heard on the stairs approaching the room once again. Zane's light blue eyes flick open and dart around the room for something he can use as an alibi for what he had been doing while Kai was out. Thankfully, his favourite book is sitting on the shelf to his left when his eyes land on it.

The opens the book to his current page even as Kai opens the door to their bedroom. Zane's eyes tear down the page, sucking in all the words and their meanings as Kai finds his own pyjamas. Within an hour, the two boys are settling down to sleep, though the day's events as well as the fictional story in his book mingle together in Zane's mind to create strange situations, some funny, others terrifying, some including his new friends, others containing only him.

Despite the horrors he faces in the dreamt fantasies, he sleeps soundly until morning.

**So, that was the seventh chapter of We Aren't Heroes! I'm sorry this chapter is so late compared to the date at the top of the page, but I passed out every night that I worked on this, and I have released other stories in other sections of this app this week, so I am very sorry about that. However, since New Year is approaching, I may not be able to get stories up as much as I am trying to now, so I apologise in advance for that. However, weekends will also be dedicated to homework, my social life, my home life, and these stories as much as they can be. Not to mention I need to finish Friends and Umbrella Academy as well... Also, the new season of Ninjago should be coming out soon! So yeah, a lot is happening. **

**Oh well. As usual, if you have any comments, questions or feedback, you can DM or drop them in the reviews. I always love to hear from anyone!**

**I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy New Year, or if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you had a fun holiday period and will have a happy New Year!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Peace out!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	8. NOTICE

**Hi everyone who is still reading. **

**I'm very sorry to say this, but I am contemplating discontinuing this story. **

**I know that some of you have become very invested in this, but it's simply not as fun for me as it used to be. I had this whole thing planned out, with plot lines and twists and turns and surprises, all that jazz that makes a good story, in my opinion, but all that has fallen apart at the seams. **

**If people are still reading this and enjoying it, please let me know, because at the moment, it doesn't feel like people are enjoying this, and I actually sometimes put off writing this because I've forgotten what I was going to write or where a chapter is leading or whether readers will like the plot of the chapter or something else. This story just isn't as fun for me anymore, but I know that some people are possibly kind of enjoying it. **

**I think it was better as a hypothetical question, better left unanswered, than a story. **

**However, if people are enjoying this story, please let me know so I know that this is still worth writing. **

**On the other hand, if you like this story and have something in mind, let me know and I may let you adopt it and make it your own. As long as I am given my credit where it is due, since this is my story, I am sure that, if you like it and have a possible plot line for it, we can make a compromise and you can make this story yours. **

**Until that happens, however, I am going to put this story on hiatus. If no one tells me they are enjoying it, I will discontinue it within the next two weeks, so if you are enjoying this story, let me know within the next two weeks and I may continue it. **

**Thank you all for reading this far, and I hope you can find another book to enjoy if I do not continue this one**

**For now, for the next two weeks, I bid you farewell, and I hope you find another story to read while we wait for the results. **

**Thank you,**

**-Panic1AtTheHere**


	9. AGAIN

**Hi everyone, I am updating this again!**

**So I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the hiatus I took from this story but it'll probably be a while again until I upload the next chapter. **

**Yeah you read that right, I am continuing this story. However, it will be updated slower than my other stories. I'm sorry but this story is going quite slow since I'm not entirely sure how to move it along faster while also making sure I explain some characters better now that the world is slightly different. **

**Also since I haven't watched season 1 in a while and I write around midnight when I'm supposed to be asleep I don't get to watch the first few seasons much, so I'm trying to remember each episode the best I can to keep this story working chronologically. **

**But basically I am gonna be continuing this story, so thank you all so much for your kind words of support, you seem to be enjoying this more than I thought you would. **

**Sorry this announcement is quite long, but yeah, I will continue this but with a slower upload schedule. **

**Thank you all for your patience and hopefully I will have the next chapter up sooner rather than later. **

**Thanks again!**

**-PanicAtTheHere**


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